Keep In Touch
by disneydork29175
Summary: Who WAS that mystery girl from Chapter 12? How does JoJo know her? The two get back in touch, and bonds are reformed, just in time. Sadie's life takes a turn for the unbearable, and she looks for means of escape... with a certain someone. Set in SeussB AU
1. A Single Call Can Change Someone's Day

Sadie Zoice flopped back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a less than enjoyable day at Springfield High (Springfield Massachusetts for all you geography freaks out there), the only thing she could think of doing was talking or hanging out with her best friend.

Unfortunately, he was about 1000 miles away, at a set in California.

She turned her head to look at an old picture of the two of them. Sadie smiled as she picked it up, holding it above her to study it. Ah, yes. She remembered this day. This was the last day of their 7th grade year. One of her friends got a picture of the two of them celebrating the release of school together, and gave it to her soon after that. She had put it in a frame next to her bed. She smiled wider as she remembered the summer that they had together. To describe it would take forever, but to sum it up… it was amazingly fun… except for the end.

Cause, at the end, he had auditioned for a movie role. Sadie sighed, and lowered the photo frame. She hadn't been against it at all… until he got a callback, and then the part that he wanted. Then she regretted cheering him on, just a little. It sounds incredibly selfish, I know, but she just didn't want to see him go, and change while she was here. The two had promised each other that they would keep in touch, but both of them had been lacking slightly on that part.

_That does it._ Sadie thought to herself as she put the photo back on the stand. _I'm calling him, right now!_

"Sadie!" her mother called up. "I hope you're working on your homework!"

Sadie cringed, and called back down to her, "Just give me 10 minutes!"

"Why?" her mother yelled back up. "I told you no computer until your homework is done, missy!"

"I'm calling Anthony!" she explained.

There was silence, then her mother spoke again. "Tell him I say hi."

"Will do mom." Sadie said, rushing out of her room to grab the home phone. Running back to her room, she dialed his cellphone number from memory. As it rang, Sadie silently urged him on. _Come on Ant… pick up!_

Meanwhile, in California, it was a normal day at the Seussical: the Musical set. Everyone scrambling to get things perfect, everyone a little too in character, and one normal kid in the middle of it all.

JoJo, as everyone around set called him, was looking over his lines, and trying to ignore the Cat's constant attempts in annoying the living daylights out of him. Usually he succeeded, but as JoJo looked around, the Cat was nowhere to be seen. JoJo thought nothing of it though, as he looked back to his lines.

"JOJO!"

The person in question jumped, his script flying out of his hands. He looked up to see the very person he was just thinking about standing in front of him. "What?" he asked, exasperated. He swore he was never going to get used to the Cat always sneaking up on him.

The Cat held something out to him. "You've got a call."

JoJo looked at his phone for a moment, then looked back up at the cat. "Where on earth did you get this?"

The Cat shrugged. "Found it."

"Well, give it." JoJo said, reaching to take it from him. To his surprise, and slight expectance, the Cat pulled it away from him. "Cat, seriously!"

"Now, now. There's no harm done in this!" the Cat said as he took the call himself. "Ello?"

"Anthony?"

Both recipients of the call were quite confused. Sadie not knowing who had picked up, because she _knew_ that there was no way that Anthony's voice had changed THAT much, the Cat having no idea who Anthony was. There was silence on both ends of the line, until the Cat pulled the phone away from his ear and said to JoJo, "Some girl is looking for someone named Anthony. Should I hang up on her?"

JoJo was silent for a moment, confused. Then something clicked, and he whispered, "Sadie." Looking back to the phone, he shook his head. "Cat, give me that phone right now."

The Cat, knowing something had connected, smiled slyly, and continued speaking to the girl. "Sorry, there's no Anthony here."

"Then how did you get his phone?" Sadie asked, worried. "And who on earth are you?"

"Who knows?" the voice on the other end said. "I could be anyone. And this 'Anthony' fellow probably dropped his phone. Left it somewhere. It happens all the time actually. Tragic." Sadie raised an eyebrow, but listened as the voice continued speaking. "But, some good has come out of it. For example, JoJo got a phone! And I'm talking to you! So, what's your name, and how did you get this phone?"

"JoJo?" Sadie repeated. A thought came to her head for a moment, but passed quickly. "No… it can't be."

"But what if it is?" the voice on the other end said. From Sadie's point of view, she could hear someone else talking, although it was muffled. "Cat, give me the phone!"

"Is someone else there with you?" Sadie asked, the reception going a little fuzzy.

"Yep! It's JoJo! Say hi JoJo!"

"Sadie!" the other voice called, before becoming muffled again. The first voice continued talking. "Sadie. Huh. I wonder how he knew that? Is your name Sadie? I wonder how JoJo knows you."

Back at the studio, JoJo was jumping to reach his phone. Oh how he cursed his height. "Cat, give me my cell phone back! I know her!"

"JoJo," the Cat said in a strangely parental voice. "She's not looking for you. She's looking for Anthony."

"I'M ANTHONY!" JoJo hissed. "That's my real name! Now give me the phone!"

Meanwhile, on the other end, Sadie had finally figured it out. "The Cat in the Hat, I presume?" she said with a smile. "That's who I'm talking too, is it not?"

The Cat, on the other end, smiled. "Why yes it is!"

"Do you have a real name, Mr. Cat?"

The Cat paused. "Well, I do, but no one around here calls each other by their real name!"

Sadie grinned. "In that case, may I please speak to JoJo?"

The Cat smiled. "He's right here." Handing the phone over to JoJo, he said, "Better hurry. Shooting break isn't gonna last much longer."

JoJo nodded, slightly wondering why the Cat was being nice to him after all that, but more concerned about Sadie. He held up the phone to his ear, praying that the Director or anyone else wouldn't interrupt him. "Hello?"

"ANTHONY BLAIR HALL WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Anthony held the phone away from his ear, a grin on his face. "I guess it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Ya _think?"_ Sadie said, exasperated on the other end.

"Why, yes. Yes I do." JoJo said with a smile. "In fact, I think so much, that they call me a Thinker!"

He could just sense that Sadie was rolling her eyes. "I see you haven't lost your sarcasm."

"Ditto."

"Touché."

JoJo smiled, as he sat back down. He loved this. It was as if he hadn't even left. Everything felt natural again, and that's the way he wanted to keep it. Ever since he left in the beginning of the 8th grade school year, they hadn't kept in touch very well. Then, in February, when shooting started, forget about it! Everything was to the movie, and the movie only. "So how's Old Springfield? 9th grade treating you well?"

"It'd be better if you were here." Sadie said without thinking. JoJo raised an eyebrow as she tried to recover. "I mean, no. That's not what I mean! It's-"

"Sadie." JoJo said calmly. "You meant exactly what you said. You always do. You've _never_ been able to change that."

"I've gotten better though!" Sadie said. JoJo laughed, and heard Sadie laughing too. And, at that moment, it didn't matter that JoJo was in Hollywood, and Sadie was in Springfield, Massachusetts. They were together in their minds, where it mattered.

As the two chatted, the Cat had rounded up some of the stars of the movie, including Horton, Gertrude, Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, and the Director, who wasn't a star, but important none the less. They watched from a distance, silently observing their co-star's change in attitude.

Horton was the first to speak up. "So who's he talking too?" he asked.

"His crush." The Cat answered simply.

"How do you know?" Gertrude asked.

The Cat smiled. "Well, just look at him! Would he be this way if he was talking to anyone other than his crush?"

Gertrude paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I suppose not."

Mr. and Mrs. Mayor looked at their screen son in joy. "Oh," Mrs. Mayor said. "He's got his first crush! Isn't that sweet, dear?" Mr. Mayor nodded, not saying anything. Mrs. Mayor, however, nearly broke down. "Our little screen son, all grown up and having crushes! Soon he'll be dating, and moving out, and getting married and-"

"Mrs. Mayor…" the Cat said slowly. "He's only 14. I think you have a little bit of time left…"

The Director rolled her eyes at the group. "Cat, why did you drag me over here? I'm very busy!"

"Oh hush." The Cat said. "Relax, and enjoy the sight of young love!"

The Director just stared at the Cat. "You've really gone fruit loops, haven't you?" He nodded, and she rolled her eyes. "Well, someone tell him he's got 5 more minutes. We've got to get shooting up again." The group dissolved, leaving only the Cat and Horton watching JoJo. Horton smiled at his partner in Thinking. "You think he's ever gonna figure out that he likes her?"

The Cat shrugged, then paused, a smile taking over his face. "I've got an idea…" he said softly, before disappearing, leaving Horton alone. Watching his little friend for another moment, he looked to the clock, seeing that his 5 minutes were almost up. Horton hesitated, before walking towards JoJo, close enough to be in hearing range of their conversation.

"And eventually, all we had left were 2 dozen balloons and a rubber duck! So we did what any normal teenager would do."

"Hang them on your tree outside and call it a birthday treat tree?" JoJo suggested.

"Exactly!" Sadie exclaimed. The two then burst out laughing together, both nearly dropping the phone. Sadie was the first to get her laughter under control, and she said rather breathlessly. "So what about you? Everyone's asking me to get the inside scoop about the, and I quote, "movie star" who went to Springfield Middle School."

JoJo paused for a moment, before grinning. "Oh man, where do I begin? Well, first off-"

"JoJo?" Horton spoke up. JoJo looked up to him, waiting for him to speak again. "The director needs you to continue shooting."

Just then, the Cat appeared randomly. "And the costume designer needs you for the Who costumes again!"

JoJo groaned, but nodded, indicating that he'd be there soon. "Sadie, I've… I've got to go."

"Oh."

JoJo flinched. Somehow, Sadie had put all the disappointment and sadness in the world into that one "Oh." He glanced to the two before speaking to Sadie again. "I'm sorry. But I'll call you tonight, I promise."

Back in Massachusetts, Sadie smiled sadly. She knew that he probably had something important to do, and that he'd keep his word as best as he could. "Alright Anthony." Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, and she gasped. "We should Skype! What time can you get on?"

"I'll be on at 6." He answered right away. Sadie smiled wider, knowing that his house could burn down, the roads to his house could be cracking, and the world could be ending, and he'd still find some way to get onto a computer at 6 to see her.

"Sounds good Anthony… or should I just call you JoJo now?"

"No, no… I get enough of that here." JoJo said softly, indicating that some of his cast members were listening to him. "Just keep calling me Anthony, and I'll keep calling you Sadie."

Sadie smiled wickedly. "Aw, are you sure? Cause I could get used to you calling me Little Cat or something. Sophia said that she thought I acted a lot like the Cat, but just smaller." There was silence on the other end of the line, but she could hear laughter from somebody on the other end. She smiled. "Don't drop the phone Anthony."

Just like that, she heard something fall to the ground. Then she started laughing too. Anthony quickly recovered, however, and picked it up, his breath short. "Please don't make me call you that. The Cat is already laughing his head off over here."

Sadie started laughing again. "I won't, I won't. I promise. Cross my heart and all that jazz."

"I miss you Sadie." Anthony said softly.

Sadie smiled. "I miss you too." She whispered, for his ears only. "Can't wait until we see each other again."

"Same here."

"See ya later, Thinker Boy."

"After a while, Star Girl."

Sadie hung up the phone, a smile on her face. She hadn't felt this good in ages. With happy thoughts in her head, she started her homework, not fully concentrating though, as her thoughts kept leaping back to Anthony.

Anthony. Just the name now gave her butterflies in her stomach. As she looked to her English homework, she smiled at the prompt. "Pick a famous quote from the list, and analysis it, and give your opinion. Must be at least one paragraph, and the essay must start with that quote."

Sadie flipped the paper over and grinned as she saw the quote she knew she was going to use right at the top of the page. Without planning at all, she grabbed her English notebook and started writing.

"_We're all a little weird, and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."_

Back in California, JoJo just hung up, and put his phone away, feeling happy and sad at the same time. He dragged himself up, and smiled, telling himself that he'd see her soon, and not to worry.

The Cat smiled at him. "It's alright little buddy. Everyone's like that when they get off the phone with someone they love."

JoJo's head whipped towards him. "What did you say?"

"JoJo." The Cat said seriously. "Don't even try to deny that you don't have feelings for her. It's so obviously written all over your little face. Right Hort?" the two looked to Horton, who looked rather surprised to be brought into this. However, he nodded, looking to JoJo. Before he could say anything, the Cat interrupted him. "See? Even Horton agrees with me. There's no avoiding this… Anthony."

JoJo turned a light shade of red at the mention of his real name. "I…" nothing could come. Not one defense that he didn't like her that way. Sighing, he dropped his head in defeat. "Alright. You win."

"So she's the girl from the picture?" the Cat asked, wanting to confirm. "The picture that's in your dressing room?" JoJo nodded, still blushing. The Cat let out a low whistle. "Man, you're one lucky guy! She looks like _fun!_"

JoJo started blushing harder. "S-She's my best friend."

"But you want to be more?" the Cat inquired.

JoJo shrugged. "I don't know, honestly! I've been away from her for too long! I do like her, but…" he sighed, sitting back down again. "I just don't know about anything anymore."

Horton took this opportunity to speak up. "JoJo, it's not like she doesn't like you. Even if she only likes you as a friend, it's still better than nothing, right?"

JoJo nodded, looking up at his friend. "I just don't know what to do."

"You don't have to." The Cat said, grabbing his hand. "Because I'm going to tell you!"

"Cat…" Horton said in a warning tone. "Don't get involved with things you know nothing about."

"I've already got a plan!" the Cat exclaimed. JoJo and Horton exchanged a look. In the near year that they've been working with the Cat, they knew that when he had a plan, the correct response was to be worried yet grateful. The Cat saw their looks and rolled his eyes. "Honestly you two." He grabbed their arms and started pulling them towards the set. "Come on! I'll tell you about it-"

_**BRRRRIIING!**_

The Cat sighed, his fun momentarily ruined. "After we get done with the day." He released their arms and disappeared to the set, leaving Horton and JoJo to wonder what he had in store.

* * *

><p><em>Hooray for procrastination!<em>

_Well, some of you (alright one of you) were asking who the mystery girl was from Chapter 12. The one whose picture was in JoJo's dressing room. So, deciding to procrastinate from my homework, and having not written anything Seussical related in a while, I decided to write this! Yes, it's supposed to be based off of the storyline in Seussical Bloopers, whatever story line that is._

_So, meet Sadie Marie Zoice. Springfield Massachusetts native, Boston Red Sox fan, Dr. Seuss nerd, and JoJo's best friend. Err, Anthony's best friend. (Help me out here, which should I call him when I'm writing the story?) She's the same age as JoJo, 14, nearly 15, and goes to Springfield High, where she has recently become a loner. (Loner by choice, not by standards) So… yep. That's her. Like her? Keep your eyes peeled, cause she's gonna be popping up more in my writing. (Yes, she's an OC. Hopefully she's not a Mary Sue, but someone PLEASE tell me if she is to you. Examples needed.)_

_The next chapter will be out fairly soon, and she may even make an appearance in Seussical Bloopers. At the least, she'll get a mention, again. So… yep._

_Review and don't flame! Every time you flame a story, fanfic writers publish a new Mary Sue story. Please. Think of the literature. Don't make it suffer._

_Peace, Love, and Seuss forever.  
>Em Cabot<em>

_P.S. Seussical Bloopers updates coming soon!_


	2. Midnight Calls and Muted Conversation

_Thanks to the first few reviewers!_

_**This is the style that text messages will be in.**  
><em>

* * *

><p>JoJo anxiously watched the clock, as it ticked closer and closer to six. The director was giving the cast, the Whos especially, some notes, but his mind was elsewhere. Noticing his drifting mind and wandering eyes, the person next to him nudged him, silently telling him to pay attention. JoJo nodded back and kept an eye on the director, who was talking to Max at this point.<p>

He didn't have to wait long though, because as soon as he started paying attention, she ended the discussion, and told everyone to go home. He was the first up, racing to get his things. It didn't look good. He only had 10 minutes left. But hope wasn't lost. _If I can just get find my mom outside soon without any distractions, then-_

"JoJo!"

_Crap._

JoJo turned his head, and saw the director motioning that he come to her. The Cat was standing by her side, smiling. Assuming the worst, he slowed his step a little. He stood in front of her, looking up at the face he'd seen for the past year now. He could see the stress taking its toll on her, and even a few grey hairs; no doubt the courtesy of the Cat. The director started speaking. "JoJo."

"Ma'am." He responded without missing a beat.

The director deepened her glare. "You weren't paying attention at all today! Everything after lunch was off. We've been doing this for a year now, and you were making errors that you didn't even make in auditions!" her steely expression softened into a look of real concern. "Is everything alright? Is something going on at home or something?"

JoJo paused, not sure how to respond. Everything was fine at home, despite a little money issues. It was no big deal though. No one was sick, no one died, nothing was going on. The workload from his tutor wasn't that big a deal either. All he had to do was do it. He knew what the problem was, but he also knew that the director would kill him if he said it was all for a girl, even if that girl was his best friend. So, he silently shook his head, hoping that there wasn't too long a pause between the question and his response.

"Bull!" the Cat coughed. JoJo glared at him, and he smiled sweetly in return.

"You sound like you're coming down with something, Cat." JoJo said sarcastically. "You should really get it checked out!"

"Yeah." The Cat agreed. "It's call obviousitus. Causes me to cough and counter things when I know they're false. It's also nicknamed the lie detector disease." JoJo stared at him, not sure how to respond. And, of course, the Cat smiled.

The director just shook her head. "Alright you two. Will one of you tell me what's going on?"

"It's the girl." The Cat bluntly stated. "Sadie, I think her name is."

There was a pause, before the director started shaking her head. "Of all the times for love…" she sighed, looking down at her little star. "JoJo. I know you like this girl, but you've _got_ to keep your focus on the movie! You're a huge part of this production, and if you aren't paying attention, then the whole thing blows up. **NOT LITERALLY.**" She said, silencing the Cat's unspoken comment. "But…" she sighed. "I know what it's like to like someone at that age, and I know that a lot of your mind wanders to the person you like, but please, _please_ JoJo I need you to be a mature kid, and focus on your commitment." There was a pause before she asked. "Do you understand?"

JoJo nodded, and she nodded as well. "Good." She straightened up and started to walk away. "See you tomorrow!"

"Wait!"

The director turned back, a questioning look in her eyes. JoJo, who had called out, paused a moment, before asking, "What's your real name?"

There was silence, then a smile came across her face. "Rachel." She said. "Rachel Hubby."

JoJo smiled, and said nothing as she left the building. He was thinking about how no one really knew each other's first names in the studio. Ever since they met, everyone was going by character names, with the acceptations of those who didn't have character names. It was strange, the feeling of that. Knowing a friend so well that you could explain almost everything that they like, hate, where they grew up, siblings, family… but you couldn't tell them their name. The thought made him uncomfortable, especially considering how long they had known each other.

As he gradually regained understanding of what was going on around him, he realized that the studio was now deserted. The only people here were the tech crew, who were going over little details, him, and the Cat, who was leaving. "Ya coming?" the Cat called to JoJo. Glancing up at the clock, JoJo saw that he only had two minutes. Then, he flew. Running to get his backpack, then running out of the studio, calling over his shoulder, "See you tomorrow!"

The Cat stopped walking, shaking his head at his little costar. However, a smile was creeping across his face. "See you tomorrow." He said after JoJo had left.

* * *

><p>Sadie was barely awake. It was 10:15 her time, 6:15 Anthony's time. Staring at her computer screen, she looked to see if anything had changed from before. It hadn't. There was no one on, which was strange, considering it was only 10:15. Most people were glued to their computers at this time, but not a soul was on tonight. Sadie mentally shrugged, and opened up an empty page of document word, writing down anything that came to mind.<p>

_It's strange. Tonight I'm going to be seeing Anthony again after a year, but not in real life (ah Skype, we hate your quality, but deep down truly appreciate you). I wonder how much he's changed, if at all. I read somewhere that guys go through this whole puberty thing from 8__th__ grade to 9__th__ grade. I hope he didn't, that would be bad news for the movie. They need a childlike star, and dammit, Anthony's everything but the reincarnation of the character JoJo himself! Well… it could be possible._

_*must resist the urge to make Seussical joke*_

_But seriously, I don't know what I'll say, or do, or if I'll be able to stay awake through the whole thing. I wonder what's keeping him._

As if on cue, the green light by Anthony's name lit up, indicating that he was on. Sadie looked from the document to the light, and smiled. Clicking his name, she started a text conversation.

**StarThinker96:** You have impeccable timing, you know that right?

A reply came soon after.

**ThinkerKid?**  
><strong>StarThinker96:<strong> Never mind. Start the chat already!

There was a pause, and then the infamous music started playing. A little black box popped up, and Sadie hit the green button, starting the video chat. Connection was instantly made, and she could hear Anthony fiddling around with things. Sadie smiled, reaching to turn on a light, so he could properly see her.

"Hey." She said calmly. He looked up, a smile spreading across his face. His eyes lit up, she could see. And from what she could tell, he hadn't changed much at all. It was still the same Anthony that she had known. Curly brown hair, brown eyes, a little bit of freckles on his nose, although there were a little less (from the makeup, she assumed). He still looked short, which was good. Not for him, but for the movie it was essential.

"Hey." He said back. Sadie nodded her head in approval. His voice was the same too. Nothing had changed… although he looked a lot more tired than normal. She didn't blame him. He's one of the stars of the most insane movie that's being made in Hollywood at this time, there was bound to be _some_ psychological things affecting his brain.

Wow. Not even 2 weeks into school and she was already sounding more intellectual. She had to stop this.

Anthony, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. Sadie hadn't really changed at all. She still had emerald green eyes, black hair, and was still very tall. In fact, if he didn't know better, he'd accuse her of getting taller. Luckily, he knew better. She looked tired though, and he wondered why for a moment… until he realized that it was almost 11:30 her time. "I'm sorry for getting here so late, I just-"

Sadie shook her head, dismissing the thought. "I'm fine, really. I got some sleep during Geometry today. The desks are still uncomfortable, but a sweatshirt makes a great pillow to soften things up." It was a complete lie, but, hey, it would get a laugh.

Anthony laughed, running a hand through his hair. "You liar." He said a playful smile on his face.

"How could you tell?"

"When you lie, you extend your jokes farther than they need to go."

Sadie snapped her fingers. "I've got to work on that." She muttered to herself. Anthony laughed again, and Sadie joined in this time. "So." She said, bringing her laptop onto the bed. "What kind of crazy things is that sweet little actor from Springfield witnessing in the big bad world of the movies?"

Anthony laughed again. "Oh God, too many to say in a short amount of time. Most of them not appropriate."

"What rating would you give it?"

"Eh, PG, PG-13"

"Shoot."

He shook his head, smiling and thinking. Sadie started humming the Jeoprady "thinking" music, and he couldn't help but laugh. She smiled, motioning for him to keep thinking. Then, suddenly, she said, "Look, just start at the beginning. What's the first thing that you remember from shooting the movie?"

"The Cat." Anthony said, a chill passing over his body just remembering it. Sadie saw the shutter and raised an eyebrow, questioning him and urging him to continue. "The first thing we shot was the opening, when the Cat first appears. He randomly showed up at my house, when I was bored, doing his little spiel." Sadie nodded, trying to follow all this. It wasn't that hard, but it was different from what she had remembered his last report of being. "So, I was told to stay as in character as possible."

"Seems easy enough for you." Sadie commented, nodding her head slightly.

He smiled. "It's gets easier as time goes on. So anyway, I was told by someone… I can't remember who, but I was told to react as I normally would to a tall man coming into my house offering me an adventure."

Sadie started laughing. "Oh God, is that _really_ what they said?" she gasped as she tried hard to get air into her lungs. The laughter didn't help at all though.

Anthony had started laughing as well. "Probably not, but that's how I interpreted it."

Sadie laughed again, quieter this time. "So, keeping so in character, I'm guessing you either let him come… or threw whatever was around you at him."

"The second one." He confirmed with a smile.

"I knew it." Sadie retorted, a sly smile spreading across her face. "And that was only the first day?"

Anthony nodded again. "Yep. Every day's an adventure on the Seussical set!" he said, rather sarcastically. Addressing Sadie's unspoken concern, he clarified. "Sometimes, it gets old after a while. All the pranks and adults. It's kinda hard to be the only kid there, that's my age. The rest are 8 and under, or 18 and older, and none of them are particularly people that I'd hang out with."

Sadie paused for a moment. "So what you're saying is, there's no one like me there… besides the Cat."

"Exactly."

She shook her head. "Well, that's a shame. It's always nice to have a Sadie Zoice in a cast. It adds a certain…" she paused, looking for the right word.

"Level of insanity?" Anthony provided.

Sadie playfully glared at him. "I was going to say madness, but that works too!"

He laughed again. "Well, there is definitely no one like you, that's for sure." Sadie turned slightly red, a small smile on her face. Anthony, also realizing what he just said, turned slightly pink as well. Why on earth did he say that?

"Well," Sadie said after an uncomfortable silence, "What's the strangest thing that happened on the set?"

Anthony paused again. "Three things come to mind immediately. One is the day where the fans showed up, one is the day where Justin Bieber showed up, and-"

"JUSTIN BIEBER?" Sadie practically screamed. "Justin BIEBER was at your set?"

"Uh… yes?" _oh no, she's become one of them! The Beliebers… or whatever they're called._

"And you lived to tell the tale?"

Anthony laughed. "Oh God, you scared me there for a moment."

Sadie smirked. "I can't believe you'd actually think that I'd like that Bieber person. You know I don't like him, or Ke-dollar sign-ha, or a whole lot of the people that are on the charts today." She shook her head, giving Anthony a scolding look. "I'm disappointed in you Ant. I expected better of you, I really did."

"Please, not another scolding." Anthony begged melodramatically.

"You haven't had one from me in over a year; I think you're _long_ overdue." Sadie said in a British accent, raising an eyebrow.

"No! Not the eternal song of shame!"

"YES! The eternal song of SHAME!" Sadie exclaimed, trying had to keep a straight face. "Remember how we decided?"

Anthony sighed. "Put the shamePod on shuffle."

Sadie smirked, grabbing her iPod off of her nightstand. Opening her music library, she put it on mute, so Anthony couldn't hear the opening notes. Then, not taking her eyes off of Anthony, she hit the button. Looking back to the iPod, she frowned. "Huh… well that just won't do." She shook her head as she clicked forward. "Nope." Click. "Nah." Click. "Ugh! IPod! Get more embarrassing songs!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Anthony protested. "You know the rules! First song that comes up, wins. Go back…"

Sadie glared at him, and reluctantly clicked backwards. She paused, however, looking to him again. "But it's so easy!"

Anthony raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

She turned the iPod and held it up to the camera. "It's Possible…"

Anthony burst out laughing. "You're joking… really, you must be!"

Sadie bit her lip with a smile, and shook her head. "I wish I was." She snapped her fingers. "Oh well. You still have to sing it!"

Anthony smiled, and shook his head. "And I got worried for nothing."

"Sing, monkey slave."

Just then, the door to Sadie's bedroom opened. "Sadie Marie Zoice, why are you not in bed yet?"

Sadie winced. _Shoot, foiled again!_ "Uh… hi mom…"

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Honestly young lady, what are we going to about you? You haven't been concentrating on _anything_ lately, and you're glued to that computer 24/7!" She shook her head, as she closed the top of the computer, ignoring Sadie's protests. "Go to bed. We'll discuss this in the morning." Sadie said nothing as her mother carried the laptop out of the room. Biting her lip, she reached for her iPod in comfort.

Just then, a small melody drifted from her phone. She dived for it in fear of her mother hearing that as well. She opened the message, to see that it was Anthony.

_**What was that about?**_

Sadie shook her head as she responded.

_**We've been fighting a lot lately. Honestly, I've been thinking about just going mute around her, and in school. It would sure make things a lot easier.**_

A response came almost immediately.

_**What about theater?**_

Sadie smiled. Of COURSE that would be the first question that he asked.

_**I'll speak there, and around you. But otherwise, I'm going silent.**_

There was a lull before an answer came.

_**Good luck. =)**_

_**Thanks Ant. Good night!**_

_**Goodnight Sadie.**_

Sadie shut her phone, turning off the only light that was left on, as she started her vow of silence.

Anthony, on the other side of the country, shut his phone as well, not quite sure how to interpret what was going on. Sadie and her mother never fought, and Sadie was the most talkative person that he knew… minus the Cat, but even he had his moments of silence! Whatever Sadie was up to, it was sure going to be interesting talking to her later.

Mrs. Hall, Anthony's mother, looked over to where he sat on the couch of their apartment. "Is everything alright, Hun?"

Anthony nodded without thinking. "Uh… yeah. It's just Sadie."

Mrs. Hall raised an eyebrow. "Just Sadie? Well, what's wrong with her?" she left the kitchen where she had been making dinner and sat next to her son. "Is everything alright?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. She's been fighting with her mom a lot."

"Well, that's normal for _any_ teenager, no matter how unique." Mrs. Hall interrupted. "She's probably just going through a phase."

"I don't know." Anthony admitted. "I think it's getting pretty serious. She said something about going mute."

Mrs. Hall raised an eyebrow. "Mute, you say? How exactly would she accomplish this, seeing as she's the one person who can outtalk the Hollywood producers, AND the Cat?"

Anthony smiled momentarily, happy that his mom knew that the Cat was a bit strange, and crazy talkative. "Again, I'm not sure. It was late there, and I didn't get a lot of details." Truthfully, he was worried. Sadie was never one to give up her voice. She believed that everyone should speak their opinions, and that people needed to be heard. That's why we were born with vocal cords, she'd always say. The one person who could speak any side of an argument and persuade nearly everybody was going to go _mute?_

It was certainly an interesting concept to say the least.

Mrs. Hall sighed. "Well, she's done things much crazier than this before. She'll survive. And hey." she nudged her son, trying to cheer him up. "Maybe she'll learn something from all this."

Anthony just stared at him mom. "Mom."

"Yeah, I know, that was mom-ish of me." Mrs. Hall said, leaning back on the couch. "But, it's my job, after all."

"To help any problem, no matter how small." Anthony finished. He had heard this over a thousand times since he got that part. Mrs. Hall nodded, kissing him on the forehead. She got back up to make dinner, leaving him on the couch to think.

Suddenly, he remembered the Cat saying something about a plan. He silently groaned, knowing that the Cat would have it all worked out by tomorrow. Wondering what on earth it could be, and imagining all the worst possibilities while he was at it, he closed his computer, heading off to do some schoolwork.

* * *

><p><em>Ha. Filler, will you ever not be necessary?<em>

_So, second chapter. Third shall be coming as soon as I think up a plan worthy of a Cat's mindset.  
><em>_**Cat:**__ Which will never happen.  
><em>_**Me:**__ Shush. More WILL be happening, I promise. I've already got something up in my head. If schoolwork doesn't send it into oblivion, I shall be posting updates soon!  
><em>_**Sadie:**__ Yay!  
><em>_**Me:**__ What the-? Get back in the story!  
><em>_**Sadie:**__ Aw, but I like it out here! It's freeing!  
><em>_**Cat:**__ I know what you mean. It's nice, plus we get to annoy Em.  
><em>_**Sadie:**__ Hey! You're the Cat! Man, Ant talks about you all the time.  
><em>_**Cat:**__ Good things?  
><em>_**Sadie:**__ Ehhhh…. Things.  
><em>_**Cat:**_Shrugs._ Works for me!  
><em>_**Me:**__ Alright, both of you, BACK IN MY HEAD!  
><em>_**Cat:**_Smirks._ Aw come on Em. We could have a lot of fun out here, you and me.  
><em>_**Me:**__ … *brain-broke*  
><em>_**Sadie:**__ I think you killed her.  
><em>_**Cat: **__Nah just stunned her. It's fun to do, she freaks out really easily.  
><em>_**Sadie: **__Does this mean we have to do the ending?  
><em>_**Cat:**__ Yep!_

_Peace, Love, and Seuss forever!_

_The Cat in the Hat, and Sadie…  
>And Em Cabot.<em>


	3. Temptation Can Drive Someone Mad

_*dead*_

_Chapter. Read it. Please and thanks. I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating more often. Things got crazy with school, and I went through a few depressing weeks, and that really affected my writing. Thankfully though, I now have a good idea where this story is going.  
><em>

_The chapter title for this is weird..._

_Thank you to everyone who's been reading! The "blooper" from here will show up in Seussical Bloopers eventually. Enjoy!  
><em>

* * *

><p>The first thing Anthony saw when he walked onto the set of Seussical the next morning, was a reporter. Strange, but not abundantly so. The deadline for the movie was slowly creeping nearer and nearer, and the lack of progress plus the subject matter was drawing an awful lot of media attention. He could see Rachel answering the young reporter's questions with debate like seriousness, as if the fate of the world depended on her answering the questions right. Anthony smiled, and walked farther on, making his way to the dressing rooms.<p>

"Yo JoJo!" someone called. Anthony turned, recognizing his character name. He saw one of the crew people, Elena the head techie, running up to him. "We're doing _Havin a Hunch_ first, so get in your uniform. We're taking it from you being thrown from the blow. Rachel wanted me to ask what the best way to do that would be. Or, the way you're most comfortable with." She stopped talking long enough to breath, then finished with, "Oh, and the Cat says he has a plan and needed to talk to you. So…" she paused, looking him over. "Good luck."

Anthony's shoulders sagged slightly. He was rather hoping that the Cat would have forgotten about the whole thing. He nodded though, thanking Elena as he searched for his costume.

"Third hanger on the left!" she called out as she walked away. Sure enough, it was right there. Anthony looked over his shoulder at the techie. _How does she always know that?_ Grabbing the hanger, he quickly changed, making his way out of the room and back to the main set. As he passed, looking for the Cat, he heard someone call out. "Hey you!"

Anthony turned, looking behind him to see the reporter from earlier racing towards him. Now that he got a closer look, he could see she must have just been starting off. She couldn't have been more than 22, and seemed a little more frazzled than most reporters that run around Hollywood. He said nothing as she approached him, questioning her with silence. She started explaining, "You're Anthony, right? The kid who plays JoJo?" he nodded, and she continued. "Can I get a quick interview with you?" she gestured to the cameras, whose lens were aimed at him. Anthony hesitated for a moment, and she seemed to catch that. "Or-or not! It's only going up on the Internet, not the big news channels or anything like that." The reporter shook her head, muttering under her breath, "No, just because I'm an intern, slap it up on the internet, no one goes to the site anyway. Those stupid execs, one day they'll be kissing my-"

"Miss?" Anthony interjected. "I'll do it."

"You will?" the reporter asked, pushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. He nodded, and she lit up. "Awesome! Thank you!" she turned to the camera operator, telling him to start. Soon enough, Anthony could see the red light on, signaling both him and the reporter to snap into performance mode.

"Hello everyone!" the reporter started in a bright tone of voice. "Rebecca Maus here on the set of Hollywood's newest motion picture in the making, Seussical: The Musical, with one of the stars of the movie, Anthony Blair Hall!" she turned to him. "Anthony, thanks for doing this!"

"No problem." He replied with a smile. _Anything to delay meeting the Cat…_

"So, can you tell us a little bit about your character?"

Anthony nodded. "Well, my character's name is JoJo. He's sort of the one who creates the world of the movie, when he picks up the Hat. When he picks it up, his imagination starts to flow, and eventually, he Thinks up the Cat in the Hat… which later proves to be both a blessing and a curse." The reporter laughed, and Anthony smiled. "But, yeah, he's the one who starts it all. He Thinks up Horton, and Gertrude, and all of the characters, and they take him on this… magical and… well, quite frankly, kind of awesome story. By the end, he's more confident about what he thinks and what he has to say."

Rebecca, smiling. "That sounds very interesting! Now, how did you first find this audition? What were you doing before it?"

Anthony shook his head with a smile. "Before this… God, before this, I was a normal kid in Springfield Massachusetts! I did some plays there, but nothing of this epic proportion. Acting was just… fun. Then…" he hesitated slightly, wondering if he should mention names. "Well, my best friend was looking up auditions on the Internet, because she thought I was pretty good, and she comes across this." Anthony smiled. "She basically shoved it in my face and told me that I was auditioning for it, and that she would help."

"So, this friend of yours," Rebecca started. "You can kind of say that she's the reason you're here?"

"Yes ma'am." Anthony said with a nod of his head. "There's no way I would have ever, A. found out about this, or B. been prepared enough to audition without her help."

She nodded, taking down a note on a notebook. "Interesting… now, back to the movie. What do you think about the cast of the play?"

"We're one big family!" Anthony exclaimed. "Everyone here is like brother and sister, aunt and uncle, cousins. We're all seemingly related in some way, brought together by… as incredibly cheesy as it sounds, the power of the movies, and the power of acting. Everyone stays… surprisingly in character for all of rehearsal. It's as if us actors are…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "Nah, it's stupid."

"No, what?" Rebecca asked with enthusiasm. "I think everyone here would like to know!"

Anthony glanced to the camera for a moment, then back to the reporter. "It's as if we were the embodiment of the characters we act." After he said it, it felt incredibly awkward to think about. That wasn't something that people thought about. It just didn't make sense! But… everyone here _was_ a lot like the characters. Heck, the Cat could even disappear! "It's strange to think about, but if you stick around, you'll understand in time." He chuckled, thinking out loud. "We're so in character we call each other by our character names." Rebecca laughed, and he smiled. _She doesn't believe me..._

"Well, that will certainly be interesting to see." Rebecca said, still laughing slightly. "Any plans for after the movie? More movies, or return to normal… err, as normal as you can be."

Anthony had to think about that for a while. "I think…" he bit his lip. "Honestly, I'm not sure. On the one hand, making more movies would be fun, especially if every cast was like this. But on the other… well, I've been away from my home for almost a year. I'm starting to miss some of my friends." Anthony looked to the reporter. "We didn't expect everything to take this long, but our director wants to be sure this is perfect… and we've had a couple of interruptions…" he trailed off for a moment, looking down. "But, at this point, I think everyone is in the "just want to get it over with" stage, and the "I don't know what I'll do if I leave" stage." Anthony shook his head. "It's really complicated, I'm sorry I'm not being clearer."

"It's alright, really." Rebecca said with a smile. "Now, what scene are you dressed for?"

Anthony had to look down to remember. "Oh! The start of _Havin a Hunch,_ when JoJo is first seen again after his "death"." The reporter raised an eyebrow, and Anthony sighed. "Yeah, that's most people's reaction. You'll see what I mean later."

"Alright…" Rebecca said cautiously. "Well, we're about out of time, so is there anything that you want to say to anyone."

Anthony paused for a moment. "Well…"

"Say hi to Sadie."

Both Anthony and Rebecca turned at the sound of the Cat's voice. Anthony turned a bright red, and looked to the ground. "Cat… go away."

"Sadie? Who's Sadie?"

"His best friend that he has a crush on." The Cat provided. "She's probably the one he was talking about earlier. What with the whole audition thing and all." Anthony glared at the Cat, which he seemed to notice even without looking at him. "You're the one who brought it up kid, not me."

Anthony glanced from the Cat to Rebecca, trying to defend himself. "Well I… and he… I mean…" Nope. Nothing. There were no words that were formed. The only thing that he could think of was murder, and how he could get away with it.

"See, I told ya." The Cat said, smirking in pride. "He's stumbling, which is a sure sign that-"

"Cat!" Anthony yelled, jumping for him. He didn't care how short he was, he was going to shut him up. But of course, the Cat disappeared in a fit of laughter, leaving him to hit the ground with a thud. Rebecca, who was a little shocked with what just happened, turned to the camera man, who shrugged and kept filming. "Uh… well! Anthony, that was…"

"Interesting." He provided. "I know. Everything's interesting here." He got himself up, and brushed himself off. "I'm sorry, but I have to go kill someone. It was really nice meeting you… and I hope this gets severally edited." Anthony paused, then quickly added with a smile. "Hey Sadie. Your best friend making a fool out of himself… again. Told ya life was interesting here." Nodding to the camera, and Rebecca, he ran in the direction that he assumed the Cat to be, following the laughter that had cursed him since he stepped onto set.

* * *

><p>"Young lady, I want answers!"<p>

Sadie sat in the chair of the principal's office, looking down at the floor, her mind elsewhere. Not talking was harder than she'd thought, but she had to admit, it was kinda fun to see people's reactions to her not speaking. This reaction… not so fun.

"You haven't been talking in any of your classes, and you _punch_ an innocent boy?" the principal exclaimed furiously. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

_Ha. Innocent, that's a good one._ Sadie thought to herself, a smirk spreading across her face. She hadn't meant to look proud of herself, but she must of, because a yardstick came down upon the desk of the principal, who was now red in the face with fury. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

_Should I…?_

"That being mute is a lot harder than I thought." Sadie replied sarcastically. "And furthermore, that boy wasn't innocent, as you claim. He'd been pushing me around, questioning me, calling names. I didn't like it, and no one else was stepping in, so I punched him. I'm pretty sure he won't be bothering me anymore… and finally, I don't understand what I've done wrong, aside from punching people. You usually bring me here to talk about why I don't shut up, and now you're telling me that, when I finally have, that I'm in trouble for it?" Sadie scoffed. "What kind of system is this?"

"A working one." The principal growled in a low, mean tone of voice. "Now, when you come back here tomorrow, you're going to be your normal self, is that clear? We don't want this school to be a school of conformity. We want everyone to think they are individuals."

"Think, they're individuals?" Sadie repeated. "That implies that you think that they are not. Do you view us as individuals, or just as test taking machines that gives the school more money? Huh, Madame Principal?"

The Principal fell back into her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I don't know why we didn't recruit you for debate…"

"Because you knew that you needed me on the speech team."

"Right." She sighed, waving away a hand. "Go, Sadie. No detention, _this time_. But don't do anything like this again, alright?" There was a pause, and then the principal silently added, "Please Sadie."

Sadie had gotten up, and was moving toward the door when she said that. She froze, her hand a few inches away from the doorknob. She rested her hand on it, silent. "I'll try." Sadie whispered.

The principal smoothed out her hair, which had gone all out of place during the scream fest. "Good. I'll see you at home… I love you Sadie."

Sadie turned the doorknob, ready to escape the office. "Love you too… mom."

* * *

><p>Anthony had finally caught up to the Cat, and pounced on him, pinning him down. "Why the heck did you do that?" he exclaimed, furious and embarrassed. The Cat just shrugged, easily standing back up.<p>

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"At the…" Anthony couldn't speak. There was nothing that he could think of to follow that explanation. He sighed, standing up. "She's going to think I'm an idiot now…" Anthony said with a shake of his head.

The Cat looked at him curiously. "You think one bad interview is gonna change the way she thinks about you?" Anthony just shrugged, while the Cat shook his head. "You've got it all wrong! If anything, I'd think she'd be glad that you mentioned her!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Kid, look." The Cat interrupted. "You obviously like her. I didn't even have to do anything; you were stumbling over your words every time you talked about her. You might be a great actor, but you are _really_ bad at hiding your feelings!" There was a slight pause before the Cat started speaking again. "Now… as for the plan…"

"PLACES PEOPLE!" the Director yelled. Anthony never thought he would be so grateful to hear that yell in his life. He rushed over to the set, ready to get the scene done as quickly as possible. The director looked to him, eyebrows raised. "Now, are you sure you want to do this?"

Anthony nodded. "Don't worry. I've done it long before this. I'll be fine."

The Director didn't look so sure, but nodded anyway. "Just… be careful. Are you sure you don't need a mat?"

"I'm fine."

Glancing to the stunt crew, who gave her a reassuring nod, the director sighed, calling out, "We're starting at the reenactment! Lights ready?"

"Ready!" the lights crew answered back.

"Cameras?"

"Ready!"

"Elena?"

"Sound is ready!" Elena called back.

The Director shrugged with a smile. "ACTION!"

"A REENACTMENT!" The Cat exclaimed. A light went up behind him, showing Anthony and General Schmitz as they were 2 scenes before, right after JoJo is blown up.

"It's a mine field out there!" Schmitz exclaimed in his superior, strict tone. "This is _no time_ for play!"

"Sir!" JoJo responded. "I Think what _I_ Think! So… get out of my way!" JoJo pushed past him, running to get into place.

"JOJO!" Schmitz exclaimed again. "You will halt! You will obey!" there was a pause. "No! Wait! SON!"

There was an explosion… and then JoJo leapt, landing with a sickly thump on the stage. He didn't move, waiting for the music cue. When there was none, he looked up. "Um… hello?"

At least 10 people were rushing towards him, all asking the same thing. "Oh my God, are you ok?" Some others said, "Are you INSANE?" Others added on, "You could have killed yourself!"

"This just in! This just in!" Rebecca the reporter shouted to her camera. "One of the lead actors of Seussical: The Musical has attempted a dangerous stunt, and isn't moving! Cast and crew expect the worst." She continued reporting, while JoJo just stared at her. He looked to the director, to see that she was completely white in the face, nearly paralyzed with fear.

"Guys! Guys!" Anthony said, propping himself up easily. "I'm fine, I'm fine! See?" He stood up, turning around for inspection. "Come on guys, I told you not to worry! I've been doing that for at least 8 years now! It's just something I've always been able to do!"

Gertrude was the first to reach him, scooping him up in a tight hug. "Oh thank GOODNESS you're alright!"

"Gertrude…." He gasped. "Can't…. breathe…."

"You scared us half to death!" Mr. and Mrs. Mayor exclaimed, pulling him from Gertrude. "Don't you ever do that again!"

Anthony looked to the Director, who was still not moving. "But… but…"

"Anthony." The Director said in a calm tone of voice. "Are you hurt?"

"No ma'am." He replied, shaking his head.

"Can you do that again without getting hurt?"

"Yes ma'am."

The Director sighed. "Places for top of scene…"

"The actor still isn't moving." Rebecca stated, completely oblivious to what was going on around her. "Gosh, I don't know what they're going to do." Anthony walked over to Rebecca, standing behind her as she reported for a few moments, before asking, "What are you doing?"

Rebecca looked behind her, and her face turned bright red. "Uh….. CUT FEED!"

* * *

><p>Sadie looked over at her clock. 10:30. He should be texting any minute-<p>

_**Hey Sadie.**_

Sadie smiled. There was nothing quite as satisfying as talking to a friend after a horrible day at school. Even if you had to wait until 11:30 to do it.

_**Hey Anthony. How's life?**_

_***shrug* Same old, same old.**_

_**Can you get into the chat room?**_

_**Yeah, I think.**_

_**Meet ya there.**_

Sadie put down her phone, and looked across the room to make sure her door was locked. There wasn't going to be another night of barging in from mom. She opened up her laptop, signing in to Windows Live Messenger. Seeing Anthony's screen name pop up, she clicked on it, bringing up a window.

**Sadie Ze Actress:** **Hey Ant.  
>Anthony Hall: Hey Sadie.<br>Sadie Ze Actress: I see you still have your screen name.  
>Anthony Hall:<strong> **And I see you changed yours.  
>Sadie Ze Actress: I don't want to give away my full name!<br>Anthony Hall: You worry too much.  
>Sadie Ze Actress: …<br>Sadie Ze Actress: Ant… think about what you just said.  
>Anthony Hall: … yeah, that's not true.<br>Anthony Hall: So how was your day?  
>Sadie Ze Actress: …<br>Sadie Ze Actress: Hey, let's talk about something else!  
>Sadie Ze Actress: Did you see the Red Sox game this weekend?<br>Anthony Hall: Sadie.  
>Sadie Ze Actress: What?<br>Anthony Hall: What did you do?  
>Sadie Ze Actress: … *sigh* I mighta, maybe punchedaguy….<br>Anthony Hall: …  
>Sadie Ze Actress: In my defense, he totally had it coming!<br>Sadie Ze Actress: He was making fun of me, and mute people in general, and he started it!  
>Anthony Hall: Was it Bullman?<strong>

Sadie shuttered at the name. Morris "Bullman" Mouse was a kid that had pushed Sadie and Anthony around since the beginning of their school days. Neither of them knew why, but Bullman hated them with a passion. Ever since Anthony left, Bullman had been upping his attacks on Sadie. It confused her, honestly. For some reason, never explained by him or anyone else, Bullman didn't like her. For a while, she suspected it was because he liked her as more than a friend, but when confronted, he quickly shot that theory down.

**Sadie Ze Actress: Ding ding ding, we've got a winner.  
>Anthony Hall: *sigh* You're going to get yourself killed one day. What are you going to do when you get to school tomorrow?<br>Sadie Ze Actress: Pray that I make it through without another trip to my mom's office?  
>Anthony Hall: … good answer. :P<strong>

There was a lull in conversation after that. Sadie bit her lip, looking to the drawer in the dresser. All of her plans lie in there. The secret to her escape. But… would they work in real life? And would Anthony be willing?

**Sadie Ze Actress: Ant…?  
>Anthony Hall: Yeah?<br>Sadie Ze Actress: I've got something really important to ask you, and I need you to be completely honest with me. Okay?  
>Anthony Hall: Sure… is something wrong?<br>Sadie Ze Actress: I… If I were to come to Cali, would you let me stay with you?  
>Anthony Hall: Of course I would! You and your mom are always welcome here!<br>Sadie Ze Actress: Really?  
>Anthony Hall: Of course! Why wouldn't I let your family stay?<strong>

Sadie bit her lip, and looked to the drawers again. She felt bad partly lying to him, but it was necessary for her. She couldn't take this life anymore. The silence at home, the bullying at school, the yelling at in between. It was all too much for her.

**Anthony Hall: Why are you asking?  
>Sadie Ze Actress: Oh! My mom was thinking about flying out there for Thanksgiving or something. She knew that we wanted to spend time together, so she figured it would just be easier if we stuck together, instead of spending the money to get a hotel room.<br>Sadie Ze Actress: Principals don't make that much money, you know.  
>Anthony Hall: Oh yeah. That'd be awesome! If you get any more details, tell me, alright?<br>Sadie Ze Actress: Of course! :D  
>Sadie Ze Actress: *yawns*<br>Anthony Hall: Sorry for being so boring. :P  
>Sadie Ze Actress: Sorry for living 4 hours ahead of you. :P<br>Anthony Hall: Oh yeah, it's really late there, isn't it?  
>Sadie Ze Actress: Eh, only quarter to 11. And I've only got 2 tests tomorrow<br>Anthony Hall: Sadie.  
>Anthony Hall: Get off.<br>Anthony Hall: Go to bed.  
>Sadie Ze Actress: What's the magic word?<br>Anthony Hall: Please?  
>Sadie Ze Actress: *sigh* Fine… Talk to you later.<br>Anthony Hall: Good night Sadie.  
>Sadie Ze Actress: Good night Anthony…<strong>

Sadie watched as the chat box exited out, then closed her computer silently. She let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. _Alright… if tomorrow is horrible, I'll act. If it isn't, I'll wait… God, please let tomorrow be fine…_

* * *

><p><em>Dun dun dun!<em>

_Well, I'm sorry this is all I could offer you. The original chapter, like I said before, got really dark. So, I've revamped it for you. Things may get a little… iffy in the next chapter, but I promise there will be a happy ending. This story is coming together in my mind, and I can see the end of it already!_

_Thanks again to everyone who's reading this. You're the best!_

_Peace, Love, and Seuss forever!  
>Em Cabot<em>


	4. Breaking Point

_Short chapter, but it's very important to the plot! As always, reviews are love!_

_**Seussetta:**__ Thank you so much for your review! I was so worried about that chapter… And I promise, I'm not mad at you. If you can't send or receive any PM's, your settings have probably just automatically turned Private Messaging off. It happens to me all the time. All you have to do is go to settings to fix it. Hope that helps!_

* * *

><p>Sadie bit her lip as she exited her 4th period class. So far… her day was going pretty well. There hadn't been any fights at home with mom (mostly because she had to leave early), and there wasn't much homework in any of her classes. Heck, she didn't even get in trouble for not paying attention in classes. Of course, the teachers expected this by now… as long as she got the answers right. Sadie was still wary though. There was still lunch, and 3 more periods to get through. As she reached her locker, and spun the combination, she hoped and prayed that Bullman wouldn't show up and ruin everything.<p>

_Alright… lunch, then Art, then History, then… ugh, test in English. Stupid gerunds, and participles and-_

The locker door slammed shut, and Sadie just barely was able to move herself out of the way before it did. "What the hell?" Sadie cursed.

"Tut, tut, Sadie." A slimy and familiar voice whispered. "Such language from a… a _lady_ such as yourself! What would your mother say?"

Sadie looked up to see Bullman looking down at her. She smirked. "You honestly think that I haven't heard worse come out of her mouth?" She spun the combination again, and forced the locker open, shoving Bullman's hand off of it. "You obviously don't know her as well as I do." She leaned against the door of the locker, so the door would catch itself on the wall, preventing Bullman from shutting it. She kept piling her books into her locker as Bullman spoke.

"Still… what would your little boyfriend think?"

Sadie rolled her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend, and he's not here." She said forcefully. "Would you just leave me alone?"

Bullman paused, and Sadie heard the rustling of papers. "He's not your boyfriend?" He repeated. Sadie shook her head, focusing on her books. "Oh, so you _don't_ mind him being with another girl?"

Sadie froze. "W-What are you talking about?" She asked, trying to keep a calm even tone. "How would you know?"

Bullman smirked. "There's this wonderful new invention called the tabloids, Sadie. You might want to take a look at them." He shoved the paper into her face, and sure enough the headline read. **"Anthony Blair Hall in Suspected Relationship With Costar Katie McGrath. More Details Inside!" **_Katie McGrath… who does she play again?_ Seeing the confused look on her face, Bullman smiled. "Yep, it's all over Hollywood. Apparently they were seen together a few weeks ago, and the press has been eating it up ever since." Sadie didn't say anything, still trying to think of where she had heard that name before. "And in an interview, he mentioned a mystery girl who he liked. That just went up yesterday. Isn't it amazing, how fast the press can work at these stories?"

Suddenly, something clicked in Sadie's brain. "Katie McGrath plays Cindy Lou Who, doesn't she? She's from Colorado, and the two are kinda friends, because they're both the same age. Therefore, they hang out together."

"But couldn't they be dating?" Bullman asked. "I mean, _anything's possible,_ isn't it Sadie?" Sadie didn't respond. _He'd tell me if they were. He wouldn't leave anything out. He never leaves anything out._ Bullman smirked. "You know what? You're probably right. They're not dating. I mean, it's because he's gay. Hanging around with you so much, he'd have to be turned off from girls forever!"

There was no thought process, no reaction time, no nothing. Just pure reflex. Sadie's arm came up and punched Bullman in the stomach, hard. As he doubled over, she kicked him in the shin, and then pushed him away from her. "Don't you _dare_ say that, _Morris._ You don't know him, or me! You have no right to-" She couldn't finish her sentence, as Bullman came at her, lunging for her to pay. She moved out of the way just in time, causing Bullman to slam into the wall. He turned, getting up quickly. It was then that he saw everyone that was around, who had drifted over as the first punch was thrown. He saw kids from his grade, kids from the basketball team (which he played on, because he was freakishly tall, standing at 6' 8"), and kids he looked up to, all staring at him. They saw him getting beat up by this little _girl._

"Come on Bullman!" Sadie yelled. "If you want a fight, then _fight me._" Her foot came down on his, and as he reached for her, she moved away. As far as she was concerned, he couldn't touch her. The crowd started whispering, some cheering, and some frightened. None, however, tried to break it up. "Come on. You've got like 8 inches on me! Shouldn't this be easy?"

Bullman yelled an unintelligible interjection, and lunged at her again, ready to break her arms. Sadie moved out of the way, but miscalculated as she slammed herself into the lockers. Bullman laughed as Sadie rubbed the back of her head in pain. "That's gonna hurt tomorrow…" she muttered to herself.

Bullman ceased the opportunity as it presented itself. He stood, and rushed over to the lockers, blocking her in. "I've got you right where I want you." He said in a threatening tone. Sadie looked left, then right. Either way she went, he would catch her. He was stupid, sure, but he moved fast. So, she went with her instinct, and kicked up fast and hard, striking him where the sun don't shine.

A loud "Oohhhh" went through the crowd, and Bullman fell almost immediately. Sadie, a bit shaken up, closed her locker, and tried to move through the crowd. A familiar hand grabbed her arm, and started pulling her. She didn't resist. She didn't even have to look up to see that it was her mother.

_Well, frick me._

* * *

><p>"SADIE MARIE ZOICE, WHAT ON EARTH HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?"<p>

Sadie said nothing, staring out of the open window in her mother's office. She simply shrugged, watching the leaves fall off the trees. Her mother quickly closed the blinds, causing Sadie to search for another place to divert her attention. "Young lady, I'm being serious! What were you doing fighting with that young man?" Sadie simply shrugged again, looking down at the wood patterns in her mother's desk. "Do you realize how badly you beat him up? He's on his way to the infirmary right now? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Sadie said nothing. She didn't need to. She knew nothing was going to help her case. The desk was quite interesting to her at the moment, mostly because it wasn't throwing it's voice out yelling at her.

Her mother realized that she wasn't going to say anything, and sat down at the desk again. "Sadie, I gave you another chance. You promised, and yet you broke it within 24 hours!" She sighed, looking straight at her daughter. "I have no choice but to suspend you for 2 weeks, for fighting with another student."

"How many will Bullman get?" Sadie whispered.

"What?"

"How many will _Bullman_ get?" Sadie asked again, louder. She was pissed. Bullman had it coming, and had no right to say those things to her. Surely he had to get suspended for breaking the rules of conduct! After all, he fought back.

Her mother paused. "I… I haven't decided. But I think I'll give him 3 days, so-"

"THREE DAYS?" Sadie yelled, on her feet. "I get two weeks and he gets a lousy _three days?_ What kind of system is this? He started the fight!"

"That's not what I saw, Sadie!" Her mother yelled back at her. "You clearly threw the first punch!"

"He DESERVED it!" Sadie countered. "This system is horrible!"

"This system is WORKING!" Her mother exclaimed. "Kids are kept out of trouble, and don't get hurt! That's the system we want. The system isn't working because you don't want it to work, Sadie! You're one of the main reasons for almost all of the problems at this school. Not Morris, YOU. Do you understand that Sadie?"

"They don't get hurt, _Mom?_" Sadie asked, with overwhelming amounts of sarcasm in her voice. "Maybe you should actually get to _know_ your students, because I can assure you, they're getting wounded beyond your imagination. Not physically, true, but words hurt just as much. And, you know? Maybe you could have started somewhere close to home. Like, oh, I don't know, _your daughter!_"

"Sadie, get out of my office." Her mother said, slamming her hands on the desk. "We will talk about this when we get home."

Sadie grabbed her backpack, turning on her heel. "No… no we won't." she whispered to herself, her head spinning. She left the school and walked the short 5 minute walk to her house. Opening the door, Sadie pounded up the stairs, getting her duffel bag and loading her supplies into her backpack. She grabbed her plans out of the drawers, and her money that she kept in the house. She shoved that into her pockets. Her winter coat easily fit into her duffel bag, with room to spare. As she was about to leave the room, she suddenly remembered the reason that she was leaving this place. Dropping her things, she got out a pen and paper, and started writing.

She finished the letter with ease, and grabbed her things once again. She dropped it into the mailbox outside of the bank, withdrew all of her money from her account, and left Springfield.

* * *

><p><em>Not much to say, but reviews are love. You'll see what she wrote next chapter, which I am already in the process of making. It's going to be pretty short, like this one, and then I'll get back into longer chapters. Now I know where I'm going with the story, and I have a destination. Thank you to everyone who's reading.<em>

_Peace, Love, and Seuss forever.  
>Em Cabot.<em>


	5. Letters Can Change Lives

Anthony sighed as he sat down in the greenroom. Finally, _finally_ there was a break. The actors had been working all morning, going over lines and reviewing choreography and such. Not a single camera had been turned on, much to the distaste of the camera crew. However, when the Director reassured them that they were indeed getting paid, they let up a little. A few other actors made their way in, talking to one another. Anthony smiled and waved at Katie, the girl who played Cindy Lou Who, as she entered the room. She smiled back, but didn't really pay attention to him. He couldn't blame her; she was with her friends. And ever since that tabloid came out, they were both kinda wary around each other.

Luckily, he had something to do while he was in here. A letter from Sadie had arrived yesterday, but he was so busy and tired, that he couldn't find the time to open it. He'd brought it with him, determined to read it here. He opened the envelope, but could already tell something wasn't right. Whenever the two used to send letters to each other, they'd always do something on the front. A picture, an inside joke, a saying, whatever. Just something. There was obviously something wrong; Sadie wouldn't be in such a hurry to forget that.

"Hey kid!" the Cat exclaimed, appearing next to him on the couch. "Whatca got there?"

"Yeah JoJo!" Horton called out, taking a seat next to him. "Who's the letter from?"

"Oh?" Anthony said, looking down. "I-It's from Sadie…"

"WOAH!" the Cat exclaimed. "JoJo! TRY to contain your excitement here! You don't need to go bouncing off the walls here!" Anthony made a face at him, while Horton couldn't help but laugh. The Cat smiled. "Seriously kid, what's up? I thought she was like your one true love or something? Show some enthusiasm!"

Anthony smiled. "A-Alright." _We haven't written in so long… she probably forgot. No big deal, I'm sure that everything's alright._

The Cat paused for a sec, as a moment of silence took over. "Well? Are you gonna read it aloud, or what?"

"Cat," Horton interrupted. "He doesn't have to. He hasn't even read it yet, give him a chance here."

Pouting, the Cat sprawled out on the floor. "Fine… he can keep his privacy. But he's gonna have to make that up." Anthony rolled his eyes, and unfolded the letter. He cringed, upon seeing her handwriting. It wasn't her usual handwriting; it was rushed, and sloppy. The random blots of ink across the page also gave way to the hastiness that the letter was written in. Biting his lip, he started reading.

_Dear Anthony,_

_ I'm writing to tell you something very important. I knew that I promised I'd tell you everything about me… but I just couldn't. It's impossible for you to know everything about me, and still like me without seeing me as a freak. So I'm telling you now._

_ Nothing is right in Springfield JoJo. Nothing has been right for a long time, and you leaving just made it worse. Nothing has been right… and I'm so sick of it. I'm sick of everything. Of the stares in the hallways, of the fights at home, of not having any place to go. I can't escape, and I couldn't escape for the longest time. But now I can. Now everything's going to be better._

_ To put it frankly Anthony, I'm running away._

_ I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about any of this earlier, but… how could I have? You would have freaked out, as you are probably doing right now. Don't worry for me Anthony. This isn't an impulsive decision, like so many other things that I've done are. I've been planning this out for far longer than I'm comfortable with telling you. I know what I'm doing, and I know how I'll do it. I have a bunch of money with me, so I'll be able to eat and such. I have a route and I have a destination all planned out._

_ You._

_ Let's face the facts here Ant. You and I both know that I'm always at my happiest when I'm with you. It's just natural. You bring out the best in me. You're the one who got me to ease up on the cutting. You remember that day? I remember it perfectly, and how you said, "I'm you." You helped me a lot by saying that, and I still can't say sorry enough for hurting you. So, I'm headed where I'm the happiest. I'm sorry for lying to you last night, on IM, but it was necessary for me to know. You've helped me so much without even realizing it… but it wasn't enough. You did everything you could, but I'm just incurable. I'll always be who I am, and I don't know if I can fix that. It wasn't enough, but I appreciate your efforts. They've kept me afloat for far longer than I expected._

_ God, this is starting to sound like a suicide note. Don't worry, I'm not killing myself. I'm not hurting myself in anyway. I just need to escape. I'll be in touch with you soon, and I'll keep sending letters to let you know that I'm alright and where I am and what's going on._

_ Thank you, so much._

_ Love from,_

_ Sadie Zoice._

_ P.S. Do me a favor, and don't change your address. It'll make things a whole lot easier._

Anthony was shaking by the time he finished the letter. He couldn't believe it. He read it over again, to make sure he wasn't reading anything wrong. "Oh God." He whispered, nearly dropping the letter. "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God!"

The letter slipped through his hands, and floated down onto the floor next to the Cat. He grabbed it immediately, and started reading it. Anthony was in his mind enough to process that this way happening, and grabbed it away. "Hey!" the Cat exclaimed. "I was reading that!"

"No!" Anthony yelled. "You… you can't! It's…" he looked to the now crumpled letter in his hands, and suddenly feeling defeated, slumped down onto the couch, tossing the paper towards the Cat. "Here." He said, his voice on the brink of breaking. "I…" his head dropped into his hands, as he shook it. "She didn't…. she couldn't…"

"JoJo?" Horton questioned, moving a bit closer. He didn't know what the heck was wrong, but one of his best friends was hurt, badly. "What happened? Is she alright?" Anthony shook his head, trying to hold back tears. "What happened, JoJo?" Anthony tried to explain, and tried to get something out, but nothing was happening. The Cat, having just finished the letter, looked up at Horton, shaking his head. He handed Horton the letter, sitting himself up.

"Kid?" the Cat whispered. Anthony glanced over at him, still saying nothing. "If this Sadie girl is anything like you said she was, I can guarantee you that you're going to see her again… from what she said in the letter, it seems like she had this pretty well planned out." Anthony let a couple of tears fall, shaking his head.

"I can't… she… oh God…" Anthony put his head back into his hands, now full out crying but trying to control himself. "She's gone. She's not safe anymore. I have absolutely no idea where she is!"

Horton let the letter fall to the ground, putting his arms around Anthony. He didn't resist, there was no need to. "She's going to be fine, Anthony." Horton reassured him. "She's got everything figured out, she knows what to do!"

Anthony shook his head, resting it on Horton's chest. "I can't… but she…" he sighed, giving up with words, and just letting the tears come freely. "She's gone."

It was at this moment that the Director came into the greenroom. "Alright, places people, and-" She stopped, noticing the group on the couch, and the Cat's wild gestures saying "NO, GO BACK! EMOTIONAL ISSUES HERE!" The rest of the room cleared out, going to find tech and costume crew, or just trying to escape the awkwardness. The Director made her way over to the couch, kneeling in front of Anthony. "Ant?" He flinched. That was just what Sadie called him. He couldn't help himself, everything pointed to Sadie, and how much trouble she was in. The Director continued speaking. "Is everything alright?"

Anthony shook his head, and the Cat handed her the letter. She read through it, gasping at points throughout. "She… ran away?" Anthony nodded, his composure slowly coming back to him. "When did you find out about this?"

"Rachel." The Cat said in a, 'so freakin obvious' tone. "If he had read it any time before right now, do you really think he'd have been at work this morning, or acted the way he did throughout rehearsal?"

The Director glared at him. "Thank you, Cat." The Cat took the letter again, as the director kept speaking. "This was that girl?" Anthony nodded, brushing away tears. "Who lived in Massachusetts?" he nodded again, and the director's eyes widened. "She's going to go from Massachusetts to HERE?"

"Rachel." Horton said in a stern tone. "Watch it…"

The Director sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized, sounding completely sincere. "I just…" she sighed, shaking her head.

"Sadie cut?" the Cat asked aloud. Anthony looked over to him, silently questioning his question. "6th paragraph, she talks about how you helped her with cutting… or, rather stopping cutting." He nodded, memories of that day flashing back to him.

_~O~_

"_Anthony, I'm sick. Why are you even here?"_

"_I just wanted to make sure you're alright." He replied, sitting down on the ground. "You look fine."_

_Sadie smiled from her position on her step stool. "I can't help it, I got an epic idea while I was asleep, and I just HAD to sketch it out!" She was standing on the very edge of her step stool, reaching out and drawing on the wall. "You know I can't resist when an idea pops into my head."_

_Anthony smiled. "No… no you can't." Sadie turned to face him, and that's when he noticed. "Sadie… you have blood on your jeans."_

_Sadie looked down, and upon seeing the blood, turned away from him. "So?" she asked, her tone completely changed._

"_Sadie!" Anthony said, exasperated. "You said you wouldn't do that anymore!"_

"_I can't help it Ant!" Sadie yelled. "I don't know why I do it! I just do!" Anthony didn't say anything. Sadie moved off of the step stool and onto the bed, sitting down. He got up and moved next to her, wrapping her up in a hug. Sadie hugged him back, holding back tears._

"_Does it hurt?" Anthony asked, his voice barely above a whisper._

"_A little." Sadie whispered back. They both pulled away, and Sadie made a snap decision. She stood up, and unbuttoned her pants, slowly pulling them down. Anthony looked on in confusion. "Sadie, what are you-" He was cut off as Sadie sat back down, her cuts to her thighs now clearly revealed. Anthony couldn't help but stare for a while. There had to be at least 10 cuts on each leg, which was more than he had ever seen on her. They looked to each other, their eyes meeting._

_In the moment, Anthony also stood, unbuttoning his pants, and pulling them down to where Sadie had hers. "Anthony…" Sadie warily started. "What are you doing?"_

_He sat back down. "What do you use?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_To cut yourself." Anthony clarified. "What do you use?" Sadie looked around for a moment, before finding her number one tool. She took it, and held up the razor blade. Anthony looked at it, nodding. "That's it?" Sadie nodded. "Alright… cut me."_

"_What?" Sadie exclaimed. "No! I can't do that to you!"_

"_I want you to!" Anthony explained. "I want to know what it feels like. I want to know what you feel."_

_Sadie hesitated, but leaned over, hovering above his leg. Then, suddenly, she turned away. "No… I can' t do it to someone else."_

_Anthony grabbed her hands. "Sadie…" she looked into his eyes, silently urging him to go on. "I'm not someone else… I'm you." Sadie froze for a moment, and then nodded, resuming her position. She pushed the razor against his skin, just so it broke it, then slid it across his leg. Anthony winced, grabbing onto the bed sheets. Sadie looked up at him, putting the razor blade down. Anthony relaxed, looking at the cut on his leg. She looked with him._

"_I'm sorry." She whispered. _

_Anthony looked over to her. "No… it's alright. I asked for it, didn't I?" Sadie nodded, still looking down at the blood._

"_Does it hurt?" she whispered._

_Anthony looked to her again, meeting her eyes. "A little." He whispered back._

_~O~_

"Yeah… she cut." Anthony said. "I t-think she still does… just less. I don't know for sure."

The director looked to Horton and the Cat, frowning. "Anthony, I know this is probably the worst day of your life now, and you don't want to work, but-"

"No." he interrupted. "I will. I want to."

The director wasn't the only one who looked surprised at that statement. "You WANT to work?" the Cat exclaimed. "WHY?"

Anthony swallowed a lump in his throat before answering. "As long as I'm acting, I'm not me. As long as I'm not me, I can forget about this. For a while, at least." The three adults looked between each other, each shrugging. "Alright." The director said. "Places for top in 5." With that, she walked out of the room, trying to regain her normal state of mind.

"Are you sure you're alright, Anthony?" Horton asked, also standing.

Anthony nodded, forcing a smile. "I'll be fine. Work comes first."

The Cat looked on at this in surprise. "You, my friend, have a horrible outlook on life if 'Work comes first'." He promptly disappeared, leaving the letter on the floor. Anthony picked it up, reading it over one last time, before placing it back in the envelope, and putting that into his pocket. Looking up, he saw Horton's worried face. "Horton, I'll be fine. I promise. I wouldn't lie to you."

"Call me Kevin."

"What?"

"My name… it's Kevin." He clarified. "Like, yours is Anthony… mine's Kevin. Kevin Chamberlin." Kevin looked down at Anthony, smiling. "Alright, Anthony?"

There was a pause, then Anthony smiled. "Alright, Kevin. I'll be right out." Horton nodded, leaving the room. Anthony watched him go, then sat back down on the couch, feeling distraught. _Sadie… God, why would you do this?_ He picked up the letter, reading it over again. _Maybe it will really work out for the better… maybe everything will turn out alright. She can take care of herself… she's strong, she's smart, she's perfect. Well, not perfect, but good enough for me. Better than good enough… but not perfect._

Anthony took the letter into his dressing room, placing it in his bag before turning towards the door. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, "Just be safe Sadie… send a letter soon." And with that, Anthony opened the door and went to face his cast mates.

* * *

><p><em>DUN, DUN, DUN! <em>

_Much thanks again, to everyone still reading. This is the semi-dark turn I was telling you about… and at this point, I'm still figuring out her route, and what's happening. So, if there's lack in updating, just know that I'm still working out kinks and things like that. Next chapter will probably start with Anthony, then go to Sadie, and every chapter after that, I'm hoping to start with a letter to set the scene, as she gets closer and closer to Hollywood._

_The idea for the cutting scene was taken from a play called 'Gruesome Playground Injuries', which is, in my opinion, a phenomenal play. If anyone reading this is in the Minneapolis area, check it out at the Mixed Blood Theater. You'll see the original scene, it's pretty shocking and real. It's… life._

_But, enough about that. Reviews are love, updating coming soon, Seussical Bloopers will be updated soon as well! Thanks so much!_

_Peace, Love, and Seuss forever!  
>Em Cabot.<em>

_P.S. Going through a rough period right now, which may hinder my ability to write. So, there's another reason why I might not update as much as I want to. I promise that I'm fine, don't worry about me. Thanks to everyone reading, again. See you soon!_


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